TONY Abbott’s pledge to stop the boats will save taxpayers almost $3 billion over the next five years, with next Tuesday’s Budget set to reveal a dramatic drop in the cost of processing asylum seekers.

The Daily Telegraph has learned that the budget savings to be announced in next Tuesday’s Budget from the government’s controversial border protection crackdown will amount to $2.5 billion.

But a further $500 million will also be saved by abolishing family stream visas for asylum seekers and the closure of 10 mainland detention centres.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that the immigration budget, which had spiralled out of control under the former government — blowing out by $11 billion since 2008 — would be reined in by almost a third over the Budget forward estimates.

Today the Minister is expected to also confirm that the government will merge the Department of Immigration and Citizenship with Customs, to create a single border protection agency as recommended in the Commission of Audit released last week.

Minister Scott Morrison claims the Government is “meeting its election commitment of stopping successful people smuggling ventures”.Source:News Limited

An expansion of the border protection functions is also expected to go beyond stopping boats to ramp up infiltration of drug and gun smuggling rings operating inside and outside Australia’s borders.

Government sources said the departmental merger was not designed to save money but to increase the effectiveness of both agencies.

comment

“The Coalition government is meeting its election commitment of stopping successful people smuggling ventures under Operation Sovereign Borders,” Mr Morrison said. “No successful venture has reached Australia in almost five months.”

“This sustained successful prevention of further illegal boat arrivals will see the cost to the budget reduce by $2.5 billion this year and over the forward estimates.

“This is in stark contrast to Labor’s budgets which forecast less illegal boat arrivals and reduced costs without basis, inevitably leading to budget blowouts which reached over $11 billion.”

Orange lifeboats, which in the past have been used to tow back asylum seekers.Source:Supplied

Operation Sovereign Borders, the Coalition’s policy to stop what it describes as illegal arrivals, and which includes turning back boats from Australian waters, has recently strained relations with close neighbour Indonesia.

The government had also faced sustained attacks from the opposition over the conditions in which asylum seekers are being held on Manus Island and Nauru — offshore processing centres commissioned under the former Labor government.

But Mr Morrison said the government would keep its resolve to stop dangerous boat journeys to Australia.

“By stopping the boats you stop the costs that come with them,” he said.

“Under Labor every boat that turned up was costing taxpayers around $12.5 million in immigration costs alone. We are ending the cost, chaos and tragedy that ­occurred under Labor.”

News.com.au's Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted content and advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.